IMPORTANT: This jewel is limited and we do not know if they'll be available again in the future. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to make sure it arrives safely in your hands. 

Please note : This necklace will be created with an 18" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length you must reach out to us immediately after placing your order. Because these stones are very limited, we are not able to accommodate any requests for specific stone color preferences.

We are pleased to offer the first jewel in a new line based on Art Nouveau design, featuring a pendant inspired by a piece of jewelry from 1900, married to the planchette: a long time symbol of BloodMilk since I first began casting jewelry over fifteen years ago.

The planchette was invented pre- Spirit board, in Paris in the 1850’s during the height of the Spiritualist era. Used as a means of automatic writing, they were much larger than today’s plastic ‘toy’ version. It was composed of a heart shaped piece of wood with a hole for a pencil at its point. Wheels enabled it to move the pencil around to write out messages channelled from beyond via a Medium ( or group of people at a Séance ) whose hands rested lightly on the planchette. Though hands were placed on the planchette, it was considered to be involuntary movement, movement by the spirits or some other unknowable force that caused the planchette to move around over paper, writing out messages from the spirit world.

The planchette was also utilized as a conduit for automatic writing ( i.e. morning pages ) and was used as a way to access one’s unconscious. The surrealists employed this method to mine their unconscious for ideas to generate new works of art. In this way, I also view the planchette as a symbol of creativity, assisting the break throughs of creative blocks of all sorts.

The planchette became an important symbol to me after I experienced the sudden and intense loss of a family member. I began to think about what it meant to continue a relationship with the dead, how those who are gone from our physical lives can still be a comfort or a guiding influence to those still living. This loss began my personal investigation into the afterlife, and as many years have now passed, I would consider these initial queries to represent an interest in ancestor worship.

As a talismanic companion, this jewel can be used as a balm for grief or creative endeavors. As a stunning large piece, both its weight and its tactile surface can be used to help anchor the wearer in times of anxiety or day dreaming. 

*Details* :

- 81 mm Tall

- 45 mm wide

- Solid Sterling Silver  

- Both pendant and chain are hand oxidized to achieve our favorite shade of stormy gray and then highlighted to reveal the bright luminous silver beneath

- Set with one 20 x 30 mm Black Mother of Pearl cabochon

 Pearls

Have an ancient history of reverence as well as a long legacy of beauty. Pearls are formed when an external irritant, like a grain of sand, breaches the shell of an oyster or shelled mollusk. Once this irritant has gained entrance within the dark fleshy confines of the oyster, it goes to work protecting itself. If this irritant can’t be expelled, it begins to ‘bandage’ the grain, coating it with concentric rings of calcium carbonate, named ‘narce.’ Each layer that is built up forms the shape of the pearl, awash in a brilliant iridescence, a beauty born of a tiny trespass. Thusly, a pearl has at its center, the object of its creation, a foreign intruder.

I associate the pearl and its strange construction to so many things: the jellied caterpillar struggling within a chrysalis, its liquefied body forms a new winged shape. An embedded star smoldering within the shell of our hearts. An ink dot, a pin prick, a moon in miniature. History, who has always loved and revered the pearl, writes that we once believed pearls were the result of lightning striking the shell and penetrating the inner skins of the oyster. A small beauty made in duress, a ‘stone’ of initiation. To possess a pearl means to own something that is hidden, sacred.

Lore has it that Cleopatra, to win a wager with Antony, dissolved a large, exquisite pearl in her drinking glass. She swallowed it in one sip. I wonder about her dreams that night.

Each Mother of Pearl cabochons are hand cut and therefore may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. They have not been fabricated by a machine, they've been made by hand and therefore aren't uniformly perfect. The photographs accurately portray the quality of the cabochons. 

***IMPORTANT***  

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for creation before shipping.    

Visit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com